This invention is directed to a method of tucking side panels into a main body of a pant-like garment while maintaining control over the side panel fold location.
Pant-like garments, such as disposable training pants, as well as adult incontinence wear, infant and children""s diapers, and swimwear, are typically folded into a compact configuration prior to packaging. The folded configuration typically includes folding the garment in half such that a front waist edge is aligned with and adjacent a back waist edge. For an even tidier appearance, the side panels or side portions of the garment can be tucked in between a front panel and a back panel of the garment.
Certain automated processes exist in which the side panels are mechanically tucked into the garments along a conveyor prior to the garments reaching a stacking or accumulation device. In such processes, as the garment is being conveyed towards the stacker, mechanical blades rotate or travel with the product machine direction and push the side panels in from each side of the conveyor. The location of the mechanical blades is relied upon to control the location of the resulting folds. Alternatively, pneumatic forces, such as air bars are used to tuck the side panels. However, the location of the side panel folds is often inconsistent when such processes are used.
Some processes use vacuum to hold products on a conveyor, but the vacuum is applied effectively only at the center of the chassis, and at a moderate level, for example around 15 inches of water. Such use of a vacuum is not effective along the sides of the chassis.
Another drawback to using conventional side panel tucking methods is that the side panels are typically tucked completely inside the garment, thereby obscuring the consumer""s view of the side panels prior to purchasing the garment. Pant-like garments, such as swimwear, are sometimes produced with side panels of a different color than the body portions of the garments to enhance the appearance of the garments, thus creating greater consumer appeal. When the side panels are tucked completely inside the garment, only the body portion of the garment is visible to the consumer.
There is a need or desire for a method of tucking side panels in which the location of the side panel folds can be controlled.
In response to the discussed difficulties and problems encountered in the prior art, a new method of tucking side panels has been discovered.
The present invention is directed to a method of tucking a pair of opposing side panels into a body portion of a pant-like garment in which the location of the side panel folds can be controlled. The method involves the steps of positioning the body portion of the pant-like garment between an upper conveyor having an upper vacuum zone and a lower conveyor having a lower vacuum zone. The opposing vacuum forces from the upper and lower vacuum zones pull apart a front region of the body portion from a back region of the body portion. With the body portion in an open position, the side panels are pushed into the body portion towards one another, thereby creating longitudinal folds in the garment along outer longitudinal edges of the upper and lower vacuum zones. Either a mechanical tucking device or else a pair of fluid streams can be used to push the side panels into the body portion.
The vacuum zones extend in the transverse direction, or cross machine direction, relative to the garment. The longitudinal edges of the vacuum zones determine the location of the side panel folds. The vacuum zone edge remains constant relative to the fold points of the panels, thus producing consistent side panel folds. The vacuum zone edge remains constant at least through the tucking of the side panels and may be shut off later. A zone of lower vacuum in the center of the vacuum zones can be used to maintain control of the garment as the garment moves down the conveyors, with higher vacuum zones along the edges of the vacuum zones. The higher vacuum zones should have about the same width as the desired final product width of the tucked garment. Alternatively, the center vacuum zone may be higher than the vacuum zones along the edges, depending on the material upon which the vacuum zones are intended to act.
The upper and lower vacuum zones can be the same width as the front and back regions of the body portion, thereby creating folds along the edges of the body portion. Alternatively, the upper and lower vacuum zones can be wider than the front and back regions of the body portion, thereby only partially tucking the side panels into the garment while part of the side panels remain visible along the edges of the garment. One benefit of partially tucking the side panels is that pant-like garments having side panels of a different color than the body portion can have the colors of both the side panels and the body portion made visible to consumers while in the package. As another alternative, the upper and lower vacuum zones can be narrower than the front and back regions of the body portion, thereby tucking in the side panels, as well as part of the body portion itself.
Once the side panels are tucked into the garment, the side panel folds can be held in place by reducing the gap between the upper and lower conveyors. After the side panel tucking, the garment may be transferred to a stacker where the folds can be held in place, for example using stacker fingers or other suitable means.
With the foregoing in mind, it is a feature and advantage of the invention to provide a method of tucking side panels in which the location of the side panel folds can be controlled and consistent.